Belgium is becoming a pariah in NATO

The Parliamentary Committee for Defence debated with the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs about the NATO summit in Vilnius next week. The Prime Minister is going to that summit with virtually the smallest defence budget of the entire alliance. Theo Francken: “Every ally shifted up a gear after the Russian invasion. Belgium did not. This can no longer be justified to our allies.”

A major NATO summit will take place in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on 11 and 12 July 2023. There will be talks about further support for Ukraine’s defence, as well as the military reinforcement of NATO. The efforts made by each country in this area will also be examined. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo explained the agenda of the summit and Belgium’s priorities on it in the Parliamentary Committee for Defence. However, he did not get any further than fine words.

At the bottom of the ranking

Theo Francken: “The Prime Minister did not name the elephant in the Chamber: namely, the additional investments in defence that NATO is asking of each Member State. At the NATO summit in Wales nine years ago, a target of 2% of Member States’ GDP The gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country, both by companies and the government. This term is usually used as a benchmark for a country’s prosperity. This is why the N-VA closely follows the evolution of the Belgian GDP. GDP was agreed. Despite several promises by De Croo, Belgium does not meet this threshold. Even worse: we are at the very bottom of the ranking.”

Court of audit scathing

According to the government’s calculations, we should have reached 1.26% of GDP this year. The Court of Audit points out that this was only 1.20%. So, compared to 2022, only 0.01% was added, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine that year. Every country shifted up a gear after that event. Belgium did not. Belgium did nothing.

Not in solidarity with NATO partners

Theo Francken: “Two concepts are central to foreign policy according to the coalition agreement: multilateralism and solidarity. By not investing extra in Defence, however, this government is showing no solidarity at all with our NATO partners. It is time for us to take responsibility.”

Belgium is becoming a pariah within NATO

With the exception of Spain and Luxembourg, we are already the worst pupil in the NATO class, despite the fact that we receive a large economic return from the presence of the NATO headquarters in our country. “In the years before the Russian invasion, Belgium’s casual behaviour towards defence was still tolerated. Most European countries now invest heavily in their defence and will demand that Belgium does its part. And they are right, because with this defence budget, this government is making this country a pariah within NATO.”